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Dental Veneers and What They Are For

Veneers are described as thin shells which are bonded to the front side of your teeth. Also known as laminates, they provide a new outer layer to your teeth in order to cosmetically improve the appearance of your pearly whites. Veneers are different from your crowns in that the former covers one side of the tooth while the latter encapsulates or surrounds the entire dental structure.

What are veneers for?

There are a number of applications of veneers. Definitely, veneers cannot be used to reinforce the structure of a failing tooth but it can easily and conveniently hide dental flaws which may give your teeth a very unsightly look. Below are some of the uses of dental veneers:

Chipped teeth. Facial injuries as well as biting into something which is extremely hard can lead to the appearance of a chipped tooth. Even when you have the tooth fixed through dental bonding procedure, it’s still very much possible that the composite resin material would stick out from the normal color of the tooth In order to keep the tooth color consistent, a porcelain veneer would definitely do the trick.

Stained teeth. Yes, you can opt for dental whitening procedures but the problem with this procedure is that the internal stains or the stains in the deeper layers of the tooth would not be able to interact with the hydrogen peroxide and therefore not lighten. If this is the problem, then it would be better to conceal the stain instead of attempting to remove it with the help of hydrogen peroxide.

Fractures. Fractures are not as serious as cracks and are only limited to the dental enamel portion of your teeth. On the other hand, they affect the cosmetic aspect of your teeth and can be concealed with the help of dental veneers.

What are the different types of veneers that you can opt for?

There are two main types of dental veneers — porcelain veneers and composite resin veneers. When it comes to durability, porcelain veneers are far more durable compared to composite resin veneers. However, the problem with porcelain veneers is the fact that they cannot be finished as quickly as composite resin veneers requiring at least two visits to the dentist before the actual veneer can be bonded into place. However, if you don’t mind waiting, the advantages of porcelain makes it far superior compared to composite rein material.